


burning through nights.

by romulus_adhara



Series: New Heroes (Ocean’s 11 taeten AU) [1]
Category: NCT (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Heist AU, Illegal Activities, M/M, OOC, Swearing, a lot of it, and also they're always loyal to each other, and i'm trash, but with style, don't believe all the rumors you hear, especially for taeil, johnmark just kinda happened but now I'm prepared to die for them, new heroes release messed me up i wrote this in like a day, ocean's 11 au, once again please. don't. believe. the rumors., taeil baby im sorry i love you but i needed a bad guy, taeten is endgame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 05:34:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14278002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romulus_adhara/pseuds/romulus_adhara
Summary: “So. I hear you're teaching movie stars how to play poker.” His voice is just as Johnny remembers. Low and lazy, but with the unmistakable energy behind. Something still seems off.“Well.” Johnny takes a sip. “The work's been boring lately without any crazy fuckers dropping in at one in the morning, offering to spray-paint a statue at Met.” It was a fun night, and although they didn’t vandalize the work of art, they did manage to steal and sell it. “I didn't know you got paroled. You could've at least texted.”Ten shrugs and looks at his glass.“I thought it'd be better to talk in person. Besides,” he takes a pause and frowns a little. It usually means he's unsure, and those moments when Ten is unsure are extremely rare. “Would you have texted back?”





	burning through nights.

**Author's Note:**

> it's not necessary for you to know Ocean's 11 to understand everything, but it would help. the plot isn't focusing on the heist itself as much as it does on dynamics between characters. and i can't sometimes find my way out of the supermarket, let alone plan a robbery, so all the heist-related details are straight from the movie, even some lines.
> 
> come yell at me on [twitter ](https://twitter.com/romulusadhara)

It's been four years since Johnny pulled a proper caper, and he is bored out of his fucking mind. The bar he's at is so loud it feels like there's a hammer banging on his temples, and he wants to scream loud enough to kill all these idiots. He doesn't, though, for it would mean also killing off a bartender, and the first rule of being elegantly pathetic is to protect the man that pours your drinks at all costs.

He brings his eyes up and looks at the TV — there's some infomercial about a new grand casino in Vegas. Johnny recognizes the man on the screen instantly and can't stop himself from flinching. It's still hard to look at Taeil without remembering the sounds of fists hitting the flesh. He still wishes it was him instead of Mark. He wishes they'd never even crossed paths with Taeil. He wishes for a lot of things.

He feels that there’s a man sitting down beside him and sighs. He thought he was giving off a perfect “don't bother' vibe, but apparently, someone's decided to talk to him. There are five free seats at the bar, so it's obvious the man is here for him.

Johnny looks up and freezes.

The man smiles and orders a drink.

Johnny contemplates hitting him, but he remembers the promise he made to himself a year ago, and doesn't.

“So. I hear you're teaching movie stars how to play poker.” His voice is just as Johnny remembers. Low and lazy, but with the unmistakable energy behind. Something still seems off.

“Well.” Johnny takes a sip. “The work's been boring lately without any crazy fuckers dropping in at one in the morning, offering to spray-paint a statue at Met.” It was a fun night, and although they didn’t vandalize the work of art, they did manage to steal and sell it. “I didn't know you got paroled. You could've at least texted.”

Ten shrugs and looks at his glass.

“I thought it'd be better to talk in person. Besides,” he takes a pause and frowns a little. It usually means he's unsure, and those moments when Ten is unsure are extremely rare. “Would you have texted back?”

He looks up and straight into Johnny's eyes. They both hear the unspoken implication. Ten is probably right, but once again, a year ago Johnny was ready to drive down to California, break into the prison, and beat the ever-loving shit out of Ten himself. Now things have changed, and still, he probably would've thought twice before answering Ten's texts. He's still not sure whether he wants to talk to him, but Ten has a look on him that suggests he's worth hearing out.

“It depends.”

~

They're now in some diner, filling up on three am coffee, and Ten looks different. Johnny knows prison changes people, but something tells him it's not four years in lockup that affected Ten. Maybe, Johnny just isn't used to seeing him alone. Even though they used to hang out vis-à-vis all the time, there was still an aura around Ten that suggested that he is just one part of an equation, and there's someone else behind his movements and words, his backup system and the necessary part. Now there's something missing. He seems to function all right, though, and Johnny thinks that everything he thought about love was wrong.

“What are you suggesting?”

Ten pulls out a picture and slides it to him across the table. It's a postcard, and the Universe must be enjoying itself right now because it's the same place Johnny saw on the news today. Ten points to the bottom of the postcard.

“From the people who brought you _Cherry Bomb, Limitless_ and _GO_ ,” he reads aloud.

“Yes, we all know those people.” Johnny takes a sip of his coffee. “What, you want to rob Taeil? I thought you were on good terms back in the day.”

That's a blatant lie, and they both know it, but Johnny needs to know. Yes, Ten and Taeil were always rivals, but they never crossed a line and stayed out of each other's business. It was Mark and him who fucked that truce up, but there’s no way it’s the reason for Ten to want to hit Taeil. He was locked up at the time the shit went down.

“You really think I wouldn't have heard? And would’ve left what happened to Mark go unavenged?” There's some sly leisurely in his voice, and Johnny doesn't like it. “I met with him yesterday, by the way.”

That makes Johnny look up from the postcard. He tries not to give out his nervousness.

“Yeah? How is he?”

“Good.” Ten smiles like he always does before revealing his punchline. “He's already in. Says he stopped caring about what happened a long time ago, but it would feel nice to fuck Taeil over. And he already agreed to be our financial support.”

Johnny's silent. It would be amazing to see them all again. Something always stopped him from visiting, and maybe it was the fear that Mark wouldn't even want to see him. Or even worse, forbid him to get close to the kids. Of course, the title is only semantical, and they're all old enough to make their own decisions now, but it is a known fact that Mark's opinion matters most to them. But this way they all wouldn't have a choice but to meet face-to-face. There is one thing, though, that doesn't allow Johnny to truly believe it all.

“What's in it for you? And please don't tell me about this revenge thing again. I know there's something else.”

Ten swallows and looks away. Johnny holds his breath, because he is apparently right, and there's some other reason.

“That's it, I promise.”

Johnny sighs. That's how he wants to play it, then.

“Ok. I trust you.” It's a low blow, but it hits home — Ten flinches a little but stays silent. Right. “Which one do you want to hit?”

Ten smiles widely, rubbing his chin in a dramatic manner. Johnny follows the movement of his hand with his gaze and almost chokes on coffee when he realizes Ten's showing three fingers.

Wow. He has to admit — he missed the crazy fucker.

~

“We'll need a lot of people.”

The plans are all before them, spread out on the coffee table of Ten's hotel room. It's weird to see him renting something this expensive because he always preferred cheap motel rooms no matter how much money he had. Johnny always thought it was a safety issue, but now he's starting to suspect it's something else. Someone else. He still doesn't want to ask about that, so he keeps his thoughts to himself.

“Not a lot.” Ten is spread out on the couch, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. “A dozen, maybe? Even less. Me, you, and Mark makes three already.”

Johnny frowns.

“What about the kids?”

“They're in on the whole thing, but they're not participating.”

He doesn't add anything else, and Johnny decides to ask Mark himself about it. The kids used to do all the cons with them, so it's strange they're on the sidelines now.

“Ok, then. First of all, we need a technician.”

“I have a guy.”

~

Namjoon looks his usual tired self when they spot him getting out of the FBI van. He crosses the street, but not before tripping over a dog, and Ten snorts. Some things never change. The sun is shining brightly in the Californian sky. They're waiting for him at the cafe overlooking the street that the feds are working on, and it takes him five minutes and another fall on his face to get to them.

“I’m glad to see you're still kicking,” Ten greets him, and Johnny looks over the guy. He's tall and kinda awkward, but the eyes behind the big glasses are sharp and smart.

“Yeah, well, it's been boring as heck.” Namjoon half-shrugs and sits down between Ten and Johnny. “Where's Taeyong?”

It happens in a wink of an eye, but Johnny still notices it — the slight twitch of Ten's mouth. They still haven't talked about it, and he doesn't think they will.

“Don't know. Don't care.”

It sounds so fake Johnny wants to laugh, but he sips on his tea, not uttering a word. They're here on a business.

“There's a job,” he says, guessing that Ten needs time to recover a little.

Namjoon takes off his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. There's a frown on his face.

“I'm a married man now.”

There's another twitch, but this time Ten composes himself quickly. Johnny can't help but look at his ring finger, where an ingrained silver band is resting. It makes him mad, but he ignores it once again.

“So what are you saying, your spouse won't like you pulling something?”

“No.” Namjoon smiles brightly, and Johnny notices that he has adorable dimples. “I'm asking whether you got room for one more.”

They look at each other and smile.

“Actually, we do.”

~

It turns out that Seokjin is extremely good at cooking, and the moment he makes them sandwiches, it's decided he's on the team no matter what he does.

Regardless, he demonstrates his ability to talk his way out of anything, in four languages, when they need to get a new van without having any documents or credit card records. And that's how he gets a part on the plan.

Johnny munches on the blessed sandwich Seokjin made, looking over his notes. There's a gaping hole in the section usually reserved for Taeyong, but he won't even try to bring it up. He knows Ten is thinking about it too, and, once again, if he doesn't want to talk, Johnny won't force him.

They have three days left till their flight to Vegas to get to Mark's mansion, and they still need five more people. He gets out his phone and orders two circus tickets.

~

The music flows smoothly through the dark atmosphere of the marquee. In the old days, Johnny would've been pickpocketing right about now, but now he has a bigger fish to fry. Besides, they're here on business.

Ten sighs from his left, and Johnny rolls his eyes.

“Who are we looking at?” He asks, but the disinterest is so obvious Johnny wants to hit him.

“Small pink-haired guy at the top.” He points to where Park Jimin is dangling from the ceiling, supported only by a thin rope.

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Ten scratches his neck and yawns, but Johnny doesn't even get to scold him. Music reaches its peak, and Jimin makes an impressive flip, crossing the distance of ten feet in mid-air, landing gracefully on the rope and bending so only his left leg is entangled. The crowd cheers, and Johnny feels extremely smug looking at Ten's shocked face.

“We got an acrobat,” he finally says, and Johnny smiles. They got an acrobat.

~

It's dark outside, and he can see some hobo getting stoned on the corner, but it will have to do. He pulls out a notepad and dials the number written in a sloppy handwriting.

“Officer Grayson? Yes, hello, it's me, your favorite ex-con, doing my monthly check-up.”

He looks up at the night sky. It reminds him of his childhood home.

“No, sir, I haven't been getting in trouble.”

He thinks about the look in his father's eyes, enraged and powerless, when they were looking at him through the bus window. They swore that day never to go back, no matter how hard it gets or what things they will have to do.

“No, sir, I haven't been drinking.”

There's a bottle of champagne He loves so much in the trunk of Ten's car. He promised they'd drink it when he gets out. How things change.

“No, sir, I haven't been smoking anything illegal.”

The first time he tried weed was when they were seventeen and stupid, and stole his father's stash while he was sleeping off his hangover. Ten wasn't as affected, but He laughed at the Pepe cartoon for four hours.

“No, sir, of course I haven't been breaking the law.”

They were scared shitless before their first con — some pickpocketing job at the hotel that fed them for a month. He promised Ten then that one day they'll pull a caper that will last them till retirement. Ten is still in the process of doing that.

“No, sir, I wouldn't even think about leaving the state.”

The ticket to Vegas is residing in his back pocket. In two days, they're all gonna be there, his ultimate dream team, although it still lacks in numbers. That's okay, though. He has an ace up his sleeve.

His throat burns. He's so fucking lonely.

His parole officer recites the usual lullaby and hangs up. Ten is about to get in the car and drive off, but he thinks of one last call to make.

The number he dials is also in his notepad, but it's written carefully, with a great deal of gentleness.

It rings three times before there's a quiet answer.

”Hey. It's me.”

~

Jimin and Seokjin bond pretty fast over their love for food, and Johnny watches on as they do something in the kitchen. Namjoon is working over at the computer station they set up yesterday and flips between four screens at the time.

Ten is off to “do something important,' and Johnny tries not to let his irritation be known. Ten hasn't been the same since getting out, and if he doesn't bounce back soon, Johnny will stop writing it all off to the whole Taeyong thing and confront him. He's pulling everyone into this, and he may as well get his head in the game.

The door opens, and Ten walks in with two men on his heel.

”Guess who found us two geniuses?”

Johnny can't believe his eyes.

“The Kims!” He laughs and comes closer, hugging Taehyung, who's sporting his signature rectangular smile.

“Johnny-boy, I've missed you,” he giggles, almost jumping up and down in excitement.

There's a grunt from behind him, and a short blonde man comes into view, throwing three bags on the floor.

“That's cute, but you could've at least helped me with the luggage.” He throws a glance at his brother and pulls out a cigarette pack. “Hey, man.”

“Yoongi,” Johnny snorts and takes the pack out of his hands. “Long time no see. Glad to know you're still an asshole.” He pulls out a cigarette and a lighter.

“Well, something needs to stay permanent in our lives, doesn't it?” Yoongi takes his smokes back and pulls one out, bringing it to his lips.

They almost light them up, when there's a sharp “Oi' from behind. Johnny turns around with a frown and sees Jimin walking over to them.

“No smoking in the room, please, I can't afford to breathe in that shit.”

Johnny almost laughs at how adorable he looks when he's mad, and he expects Yoongi to respond with something snarky, but there's silence. He turns to look at Yoongi, and oh god. He looks like he was hit by a truck, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips, his tired eyes open wide. Johnny looks between him and Jimin, noticing that the acrobat is now silent too, with light pink on his cheeks.

“Okay, we'll go to the balcony,” Yoongi mumbles but makes no move to leave. Johnny stifles a laugh and grabs him by the hand, finally making him move.

Oh, this is going to be fun.

~

Jung Hoseok these days goes by the name of Hope Jay, and works like any other law-abiding citizen, on a normal casino shift in LA. He pretends to not recognize Johnny when Yoongi and he walk in but agrees to meet them at midnight at the nearby bar.

They're waiting for him there when Yoongi breaches The Topic. Johnny knew it was only a matter of time. He only wishes he had more information.

“So what's the deal with Ten and you?” Yoongi is famous for not beating around the bush, and in some way, Johnny appreciates it. “I thought Taeyong would get you in the divorce.”

It's a good joke, but Johnny really doesn't want to laugh.

“He came to me, offered a job.” He half-shrugs. “Besides, Taeyong went off the grid ever since... You know.”

“Yeah.” Yoongi frowns, and Johnny predicts what he's going to say next. “What the fuck even happened, man? The only thing I heard is that Taeyong visited him once with the divorce papers.”

Johnny takes a drink and rubs his eyes.

“There were rumours. That Ten made some friends in prison. Very close ones.” He doesn't finish, can't even think of it, but Yoongi gets his meaning.

“No fucking way. Maybe, he was... forced?” He flinches, and Johnny almost laughs. Almost.

“No. The guy who broke the news to the community was his cellmate. Said Ten was getting respect on the inside, nobody touched him. They actually liked him for that Colorado job we pulled back in the “14. But at some point, he decided he wants more, and he got with the guy that basically runs that place.”

“The fuck? That doesn't sound like Ten.” Yoongi frowns, drumming his fingers on his glass.

“That's what everyone thought too.” Johnny looks at his reflection in the mirror over the bar. He remembers that day very clearly. He was with Taeyong then, and it was the last time they saw each other. “Until Tae made a call. Then he went down there and came back, divorce papers signed, his ring sold.”

“Fuck,” Yoongi breathes out, and Johnny really gets it. “I always thought that if someone can stay together in this kind of life, it will be them.”

“Yeah,” Johnny sighs and finishes his drink. “Life is full of surprises.”

Hoseok joins them shortly, and it takes them three minutes to convince him to request a transfer at work. Suddenly, Hope Jay develops an interesting health condition, and his boss doesn't have a choice but to relocate him to the warmer climate of Las Vegas.

~

The flight is tomorrow, and Johnny is restless. It's going to be weird to see Mark after all this time and the miles of guilt trips he’d done, but he can't wait.

“Munitions?”

Ten is checking off the items from his list, and Johnny looks at the notepad absentmindedly. It's blue, like every notebook Taeyong ever had, and Johnny really wants to ask. And of course he doesn't.

“Jaehyun's in town.”

Ten nods. Writes something again. His wedding ring is shiny and polished.

“I'll call him.”

~

The rest of the crew is already on their way to Vegas, having taken different flights to avoid suspicion. Ten and he are at the same diner where this whole thing started, and there's another fucking ad with Taeil's smiling face. Mark is also there, humbly standing in the background, hands together, looking at Taeil with a neutral expression. Johnny wants to puke. He can't take his eyes off the TV.

“Ten oughta do it,” Ten says, looking thoughtfully at the screen. Johnny wonders what's on his mind. Wonders if this is the time they'll talk.

“You think we need one more?”

Johnny doesn't answer. The ad ends, and an infomercial for some soap comes on.

“You think we need one more.”

Mark told him right away there's nobody to blame, but Johnny saw the look in his eyes. Taeil fucked a lot of things up, but the fact that he even got his hands on Mark was and is Johnny's fault.

“We'll get one more.”

~

Jeon Jungkook looks exactly like his father, albeit twenty years younger, and steals even better. Ten observes him taking the wallet off some passenger from afar, noticing old man's hand in Jungkook's movements, but also something new and fresh the kid brings in himself. He follows Jungkook out of the train and quickly swaps the wallet he lifted with his own card.

He waits for him at the cafe they once worked at. It was at the beginning, when they tried to make it honestly, doing double shifts to afford a place to live. It didn't even matter that they could barely walk from exhaustion sometimes, as long as they came home together hand-in-hand. Ten looks at the dirty counter and remembers the day before they quit — they had the night shift, and Taeyong fucked him right there on that table.

He smiles. It fucking hurts.

Jungkook solves his riddle and finds him at the table near the window. He's interested. He wants to prove he's not his father. Ten offers him that chance.

They're eleven now.

Seems about right.

~~~

  


Mark looks good. Johnny knew he would, but he still sees his bruised face whenever he closes his eyes, so it's hard.

He freezes when they walk in, but the next second he's being attacked by three overgrown dwarves. Mark watches on amused, and Johnny allows himself to believe that they're really okay.

”Why there are only three of you?”

Lucas shrugs, looking at Mark.

”They're out of town.” His voice is the familiar tingling sensation at the back of Johnny's neck. It's refreshing. “But you're welcome to visit any time when they're back, you know.”

He dares to look Mark in the eyes, and there's no animosity or lie there. He really means it. Johnny wants to cry, but instead, he smiles.

Mark's hand holds his just as tight as it used to. His smile is just as warm. Johnny regrets dragging it out for so long.

~

They're all finally in one place. It's one of Mark's mansions on the west side of the city, and the people who're supposed to pull the craziest heist in the history of Vegas are laughing at some lame dad-joke Seokjin made.

All the kids are off pulling their own job, and Mark is standing by his side like a familiar invisible presence. It's so exhilarating Johnny's hands are shaking.

Ten stands in the center, hands in his pockets, waiting for everyone to settle in.

He'd been in that same place dozens of times before, but there was someone else by his side. It feels empty now.

Once there's quiet, he clears his throat.

“Before we get started, nobody's on the line yet.” He looks over each of them. “What I'm about to propose to you is highly lucrative and highly dangerous. If it doesn't seem like your particular brand of vodka, eat up and have a safe trip home. No hard feelings.” He makes a pause, but there's silence, and he smiles. “Those on board, come with me.”

Namjoon set up the equipment this morning when they arrived, and by the time they walk into the room pronounced as their base, one of the screens is already showing the blueprints of the street they're targeting.

They all take their places, and Ten points on the screen.

“The 3000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard…” He clicks the button, and the pictures of three grand hotels appear. “Otherwise known as the street where three most profitable hotels are located — _Cherry Bomb_ , _Limitless,_ and _GO_.”

There's a snort from the back, and Johnny doesn't need to turn around to know it's Yoongi. He looks at Jimin, and yes, the guy is looking in the same direction with a frown.

Ten goes on unbothered.

“They're all heavily guarded, but there's an upside — all three have one vault. Here.” He points at the _Limitless_. “200 feet under this monstrosity there's a vault that, on the day we are going to hit it, will contain about 160 million dollars. There’s going to be a big boxing match, and the law requires the casinos to have enough cash on hand to cover all the chips in the house. And we're going to steal it.”

There's silence for a beat.

“Smash-and-grab job, huh?” Jungkook's voice sounds from the back, and they all turn to him.

“Slightly more complicated than that.” Johnny grimaces. He knows it's a bit cruel, but the kid needs to learn. Jungkook sputters and goes red, but Johnny doesn't have time to feel like a dick — he can see Taehyung walking over to the youngest.

“Anyway,” Ten continues, and Johnny throws one last glance at the pair in the back before focusing on the screen. “Here you can see all the digital blueprints of the vault. This is courtesy of Jung Hoseok, a new blackjack dealer at the _Limitless_.”

He goes into detail about how impossible the job is, telling them all about the guards, security systems, and passcodes. Johnny already knows all this shit, so he looks over the men he's going to have to trust for the next two weeks. The only people he doesn't know that well are Namjoon and Seokjin, but if Ten trusts them, Johnny does too. There's also Jungkook, but only a blind idiot can't see the heart eyes he makes at Taehyung, so that's settled. The rest of them he’d known for years.

The only black sheep, objectively, is Ten himself. Johnny doesn't doubt his loyalty, but he hates the fact that Ten is hiding something. Even Mark himself is long over what happened with Taeil, but Ten shows unusual persistency to get back at him for something that didn't even happen to him. It's suspicious, and Johnny hates it.

Ten finishes the briefing, and there's the expected chorus of “how the fuck's, but they're weak and short-living. The stakes are high and seductive. They're all in.

“Any questions?” Ten asks as an afterthought.

There is that silence again, the one that they've already experienced, and they all know the question needed to be asked, yet nobody dares to do it. Jungkook seems confused, and Johnny can see Taehyung whisper “I'll tell you later'. Ten notices it, too, and sighs.

“Heist related questions?”

A murmur of “nos' is heard, and they all disperse to sleep and think everything over. The real work starts tomorrow. Ten goes outside, already pulling out one of those cheap cigarettes he always smokes. Johnny sighs and contemplates going after him, but suddenly Mark is standing in front of him.

“Why are you doing this?”

He's taken aback at first, but then the good old guilt comes back, and he looks down.

“You know why. I need to set it straight, Mark.”

Mark sighs, and fixes the collar of Johnny's shirt.

“You're an idiot. It wasn't your fault we got too far.” He frowns, and Johnny wants to reach out and smooth out the skin on his forehead. “I fucked up, and got what I deserved.”

“No.” He's so mad suddenly his voice turns cold. “You didn't deserve that beating. Or humiliation. I stayed behind the scenes the whole time, and you got the punishment. Why didn't you tell him who I was?”

There's a strange look in Mark's eyes that takes Johnny back to the last year when he looked at him the same exact way. That time, Johnny got into a car and left. Today, he really doesn't want to.

“Do you really have to ask?” Mark's voice is soft, and he's still frowning, so Johnny reaches out after all and smoothes out the crease between his brows. Mark looks up, and there's probably a question on his mind, but Johnny is tired of running from him. All the signs are there, and it's been eleven years. He's finally brave enough to do this.

Mark, somehow, isn't surprised when Johnny kisses him. He hums softly and opens his lips, his hands going to Johnny's shoulders. It feels like finally coming home, and Johnny hates himself a little for dragging it out. He traces Mark's chin with his fingers, tilting his head just so. It's perfect. It's right.

“It’s been long overdue,” an amused voice says from behind them, and Johnny contemplates murder for a second. He breaks the kiss but refuses to step away. Ten walks past them toward the stairs. “You know, there are people who now owe me a lot of money, so thanks, guys.”

He doesn't wait for their response, going up to his room. Johnny follows him with his eyes, partly because he's a little scared to look back at Mark whose hands are still clutching his shoulders.

There's a soft laugh, and he looks back after all. Mark looks happy. And well. That's enough for Johnny.

~

_'First thing first — reconnaissance. I want to know everything that goes on in those casinos.’_

The Kims are put to work as the _Limitless_ idling visitors, doing random walks from slots to slots, examining the layout from the inside, and memorizing the guards' rotating system.

_'I want to know the dealer's rotations and all the cash paths.’_

Hoseok is working from the inside, learning about the staff, writing everything down. Every detail and dirty secret, and Johnny really doesn't want to know how he gets half of those, but as long as the man's doing his job, Johnny's not complaining.

_'Second task — power. Jaehyun, it's your cue.’_

Jaehyun only requires two things — food and good toys, and they provide him with both. They met three years ago, while they were both trying to rob the same museum at the same time, and after some misunderstandings and one minor shoot-out, they became friends and finished the job together.

He does his preliminary part in half an hour, installing some creepy-sounding shit in the sewers under the _Limitless_ that will later help them get in, and the rest of the time he just walks around and puts something together. Every time Johnny asks what it is, he just blinks mysteriously and says that it will all come together in its due time. Whatever. Johnny has enough on his plate.

_'Third task — surveillance._ ’

“You can't blink without the security seeing and hearing it. I need us to have those same eyes and ears. Namjoon?”

Joon is working day and night, trying to hack into their system, but there's no way in from the outside. Luckily, the hotel employs two in-house technicians, and one of them is extremely lonely.

It's not like Johnny knows every stripper in Vegas, but he grew up in one of these places, so his face is known and loved. Sheila is as fresh as ever when she hands him the key-card she pulled from the technician guy she's working right now. He thanks her and gives her a kiss on the cheek, promising to return the pass in an hour.

He'd expect Namjoon to be nervous about going inside the literal labyrinth of back rooms the _Limitless_ has, but the man is unerringly calm. Maybe, it has a lot to do with Seokjin talking in his earpiece, encouraging him and leading the way. Yoongi and Taehyung make a scene under one of the cameras, successfully blocking the view with balloons Johnny provides for them.

Namjoon installs what he needs and gets out just in time, Johnny returns the pass, and they all get the hell out of there. Now they see and hear everything.

_'Fourth task — construction. We need to build the exact replica of the_ Limitless _vault.’_

_'For practice?’_

_'Something like that.’_

The kids are still busy with their own con, but they're excited to help them transfer all the material to Mark's warehouse where they will build their own little vault. Johnny likes the thrill of being surrounded by all of them, and he feels that it's mutual in Jisung’s loud laugh, Sicheng being always near him, and the others planning their movements so that they're close to him at any given point. It feels a little like they're caging him, trying to prevent him from escaping again, and he can't find it in himself to mind.

The construction goes smoothly, and they have the replica in three days, which is when Jimin comes in. He needs to fit into one of the cash containers that is roughly a little kid's size, spend twenty minutes in there, then get out, and jump five feet over to the lockers near the walls as to not trigger the floor's motion sensors. It all seems implausible, but Jimin just rolls his eyes and goes over to the container, climbing onto it and making a smooth jump, landing on the lockers without breaking a sweat.

“That's impressive.” Ten nods, rubbing his chin. “But you still need to fit into that container.”

Jimin shrugs.

“I’m very flexible.” He looks right at Yoongi, and Johnny almost chokes at the expression on Yoongi's face.

Jimin, meanwhile, makes another jump back to the containers, and opens one, going in bottom down with one smooth motion and completely disappearing out of view.

“He _is_ flexible,” Yoongi whispers, his voice rough.

Jimin gets out with another simple movement, and they all cheer. He bows with a light smile and walks off, and Johnny watches in amusement how Yoongi tries to remember how to breathe. He sees Ten observing the same scene.

“Ten bucks that they'll get to it within a week.” He turns to Ten, already pulling out his wallet.

Ten goes to say something, but closes his mouth immediately and smiles.

“Too late, I'm afraid.” He nods towards behind Johnny's back. He turns around and wants to scream in frustration because right by the machine they used to cut the metallic details out, Yoongi is actively working on pushing his tongue down Jimin's throat, and the latter is obviously not complaining.

“Oh, come on.”

_'Fifth task — intelligence. I need a man watching Taeil.’_

_'He knows half of us.”_

_'He doesn't know what Johnny looks like, but he's too close to this, so he's out. We need someone Taeil doesn't even suspect to be affiliated with me.”_

Jungkook isn't particularly excited about being on watch duty, but once again, the kid's gotta learn. Once he realizes there's no point in complaining, he gives his everything to the job, and more than once Johnny sees him in the living room late at night hunched over his notes and working out Taeil's schedule. He appreciates this kind of dedication. Taehyung is often curled up on the couch beside him, and Johnny smirks to himself.

_'Sixth task — transport.’_

_'We have that van Seokjin helped buy.”_

_'Yes, but we need another one.”_

Seokjin comes in once again, and this time manages to secure them even two identical vehicles. Ten almost faints from excitement when he finds out about that, but Johnny notices how even happy emotions don't completely reach his eyes. It's incredibly fucking strange because Ten has always been the guy to feel it on the full. Maybe, that's what fucked everything up.

Jin gives him the keys to the vans with a little smile and goes to check up on Namjoon. At first, he couldn't see how they fit together, because Namjoon kept being glued to the screens, watching and recording, but after a while, Johnny noticed that he always made time for Seokjin whenever he walked over. That is so adorable Johnny always has this urge to go squeeze Mark or something whenever he observes the happy couple.

So far everything is going smoothly, and Johnny can't help but feel optimistic. They're really going to do it.

~~~

Seokjin was apparently made to wear expensive Italian suits, for he looks like a proper businessman with a lot of digits on his account and a few fucks he gives about other people. Yoongi and Taehyung are playing his bodyguards today, and even they look expensive in their black smokings. Johnny has to call Jungkook's name twice before the younger looks away from Taehyung standing at the register requesting the passkey for his “employer's' hotel room.

They're sitting in the lobby, looking to everyone around them like some ordinary idling guests. Johnny knows Taeil never saw his face and won't recognize him if he doesn't start randomly screaming and making his voice heard, but he still feels uneasy.

“So. Tell me about Taeil.”

”That guy's a machine.” Jungkook looks at his notes, stopping over the page that's titled “schedule'. “He arrives at the _Limitless_ every day at 2 p.m. sharp. Same car, same driver. He knows every valet by name. Always talks to them about their families and stuff, makes sure they don't need any help.”

Johnny almost wants to punch something. Because that is always the thing about Taeil — he is, virtually, a good fucking guy. They were even friends, as much as you can be friends with someone who only talks to you through the earpiece and never shows his face. In a way, Johnny still likes the guy, even though he ordered for Mark to get beat up, stole half the money they earned together and ran away, they had some good times. Fuck, Johnny even understands the reasons he did it, and maybe that's what makes him so mad.

And still, he would have forgiven the whole money and betrayal thing, but he can't forgive him for Mark. He spent a week in the hospital, and that fucker had the nerve to even send him flowers and offer to work together, because “we all agree the lesson had to be taught, but I really like you guys'. Mark agreed because there was nothing better to do, and Johnny ran away before Taeil could uncover his identity.

“He goes upstairs to his office, works hard, hits the lobby floor at seven on the nose. Spends three minutes talking to his casino manager.”

“What do they talk about?”

“Mainly business. He likes to know what's going on in his casinos, be in control.”

That he does. Johnny remembers his voice screaming out orders and threats.

“There's rarely an incident he doesn't know about or handle personally. Then, he spends a few minutes with high-rollers in VIP rooms. He's out by 7:30 when an assistant hands him a black portfolio. The contents are juicy — today's take and new security codes. After that, he heads to the restaurant.”

It's 7:32, and just like it was predicted, Taeil walks past them on his way to the restaurant. Once again, Johnny knows he won't recognize him, but he stills tenses up a bit and looks the other way. Taeil looks more tired than usual, but then again — the last time he saw him was a year ago from a computer screen. The man disappears into the restaurant, and Johnny relaxes.

“Like I said, a machine.” Jungkook closes his notepad.

“That portfolio contains all the codes?” He tries to get his head back in the game.

”Yep,” Kook pops the “p' and nods. “Two minutes after they've changed them — he's got them.”

Jungkook looks nervous, and he frowns like he's about to say something, but can't find the strength.

“Spill,” Johnny sighs. He really needs to show the kid that he's part of the team.

“The guy's ruthless. I've heard stories, and I don't know if they're true, but…” He frowns deeper, hiding his hands in his pockets. “You sure know how to pick them.”

Johnny contemplates avoiding the topic, but he just thought about making Jungkook feel like a part of them. Besides, everyone else knows the story, so he might as well fill him in.

“The stories you've heard? Most are probably true.” He rubs his neck and sighs. “About a year ago, Mark and I did a job. Back then, Taeil was no better than the rest of us. His father ruled over the casinos, and Taeil always denied having anything to do with him, he was enjoying pulling capers more than doing business. We were in contact but never saw each other. I was very protective of my identity back then. We only communicated through calls, and we got along well enough, until Taeil called one day with an offer to hit one of his dad's shops, just for the kicks.”>/p>

He can still remember the nonchalant way he talked — like he was proposing a five o'clock tea.

”I won't go into detail, but it went incredibly wrong. He threw us under the bus. His old man died of a stroke, Taeil took over the empire and…” It's still fucking hard to say it out loud, because the guilt, no matter what Mark says, is still there. “He had Mark beat up in front of every man that worked that job as an educational matter. They all stood there and watched, including me, but I couldn't even do anything, because Taeil arranged it in such a way that I could only watch the recording. I didn't know what was happening until I got it in the mail and found out Mark was in the hospital. And then he called us up again and offered to work together. I think you know the rest.”

He swallows, and looks at Jungkook, who looks shell-shocked.

“Wow.”

“Yeah.” Johnny snorts. “I’m telling you this so that you understand who we're dealing with, and not just from the stories that the busboys whisper to each other.”

“Okay,” Jungkook nods and looks at his watch. “Here comes the guy.”

“The guy?”

Now, that's the strangest part.

“Yeah. He comes down almost every day, and they go to dinner together. It's unclear whether they're in a relationship, though.”

Johnny suddenly feels like his skin is crawling.

“That's unlikely, Taeil’s asexual. Where does the guy come from?”

Jungkook nods to the grand staircase, leading up to the upper floors in a spiral.

“From that rare-books library. He's the curator up there,” Jungkook supplies, and then suddenly perks up. “Here he comes.”

Johnny searches the faces of the people on the staircase, trying to locate the mysterious guy when his gaze catches the flash of green, and he freezes, recognizing the sharp face under the bright hair.

_No. Fucking. Way._

He looks happy and well-rested, a bright smirk plastered on a beautiful face.

Jungkook says something else, but Johnny is busy freaking the fuck out, so he ignores the younger in favor of turning around as inconspicuous as he can. By the time he passes them, he finally tunes Jungkook back in.

”Don't know if we can use him. I can't catch his name.”

Johnny grips his phone, looking at the guy walking away with that lazy, elegant atmosphere he always has around him.

“Taeyong. His name is Lee Taeyong.”

~~~

He's so mad he wants to punch something, preferably Ten's face, but he settles on the wall near his head.

“Tell me it's not about him!” He can't help but yell, full of frustration and anger.

“What are you talking about?” Ten asks in a way that shows clearly he's playing dumb, and it only makes Johnny angrier.

“I'm talking about your fucking husband walking around with fucking Taeil and working at his fucking library at one of his fucking hotels.” He's gritting his teeth so much he fears they're gonna crush.

“Ex-husband.”

The door opens, and the whole crew walks in, obviously attracted by the noise. Mark steps forward, bringing his hand on Johnny's shoulder.

“What's going on?”

“Our hero here,” He points angrily at Ten, who stands unbothered. “Kept talking about honor and shit like that, as the reason we're doing this thing. Tell me now, is it a coincidence Taeyong is apparently Taeil's fuckboy?”

Now that makes Ten show some emotions, and Johnny watches with grim satisfaction how he clenches his fists and tries to take deep breaths through his nose.

“I doubt there is anything more between them than a simple close friendship.”

“Is that an educated guess or wishful thinking?” Yoongi speaks from the back. He's holding Jimin's hand, and the acrobat is frowning, trying to stop Yoongi from intruding.

“No, Ten's right, and you know it, Johnny.” It's Mark, and Johnny looks at him disbelievingly. “It's a known fact Taeil's ace. Besides—”He looks nervously at Ten. “I don't think it would be easy for him to be with someone after... After everything. And Taeil's never mentioned anything going on between them, so...”

“Wait.” Johnny takes a step back, and Mark's hand falls off his shoulder. “You knew?”

“I asked him not to say anything,' Ten says before Mark can respond. “I wanted to tell you myself, but I couldn't find the time.”

“Oh really? In all those two weeks we've been up each other's business, you couldn't find a fucking second and tell me your husband is at the top of the fucking pyramid we're trying to bring down?”

“Ex-husband.”

“Oh, who the fuck are you trying to fool?!’ He full-on screams it, so mad he’s shaking. “I have no idea whether you really did what the rumors are saying you did, but the one thing always was and still is pretty clear — you love him, and you will never fucking stop.” He's breathing heavily. There's a tense silence in the room. Ten's face is unreadable. “You know, I made a promise to myself to not bring it up until you decide to do it yourself, and to not make any snap judgments until I know the full story.” He rubs his eyes, suddenly tired. “So please tell me. Prove that this whole thing isn't your attempt to get Taeyong back somehow. Or else I'm out.”

He watches Ten's face carefully, trying to see something, like in the old days, but the fucker's been unreadable ever since prison. Finally, he sighs and looks him in the eyes. For the first time since they've reunited, Johnny notices how tired Ten is.

“I'm sorry, but there is really nothing to tell. I'm not doing it to get him back.” He makes a dark laugh and rubs his eyes. “I mean, you know him. Like something like that would suddenly make him drop everything and come running.”

They're all silent again.

He doesn't say Taeyong's name, Johnny notes. Is it too hard, is he ashamed, or is it both?

“So it's really just about showing Taeil his place?”

There's nothing on Ten's face. Just a dull blankness.

“Yes. Trust me. We just need to teach him a lesson.”

~~~

They’re all ready now. The plans are perfected, everything is prepared, and they’re ready to go the day after tomorrow.

Some of the crew is in the living room, going over the plan once again to make sure there’s nothing missing. The TV plays in the background, some infomercial about the same fucking soap, and Johnny watches the screen. Waiting.

About ten minutes later, there’s a tell-tale sound of the news announcement, and they all perk up. An old hotel of Taeil’s, _Boss_ , appears on the screen, surrounded by tape and ready for demolition. Mark told them about it four days ago, and the Kims are using the time while Taeil and his crew are away to map out some last parts and his personal office.

He appears on screen, all polished and expensive. Mark is there too, his business partner, and Johnny tries not to crush his glass looking at how Taeil smiles at his… Boyfriend? His Mark.

The camera pans out, and there’s a bright flash of green in the little crowd behind them. Johnny shoots a glance at Ten, and yes, of course he’s watching. His face is unreadable once again.

An announcer finishes his speech, and Taeil signals behind him for someone to come closer. Johnny watches on with dread how Taeyong walks to the big lever arm supposed to bring the hotel down. He’s sporting the biggest smirk, but, and Johnny’s not sure whether it’s a trick of the light or bad reception, but he looks tired and sleep-deprived. It’s a contrast to the time Johnny saw him at the hotel. He wonders whether Ten did something stupid on one of those late-night walks he tends to take nowadays.

Taeyong pompously lowers a lever, and the _Boss_ explodes in dozens of places, coming down fast and smooth.

He’s not looking at the falling building, though. His eyes, and Ten’s probably too, are glued to the little picture in the corner of the screen, where Taeil puts his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder and half-hugs him. Johnny closes his eyes, hearing the sharp intake of breath from his left and the sound of a pen falling on the glass table. He doesn’t need to look away from the TV to see Ten storming out of the room.

He gives him ten minutes. He’s still a bit mad, but he is still one of his best friends, so Johnny follows him upstairs. The door to Ten’s room is closed, and Johnny contemplates giving him some space, but suddenly there’s a loud crash, and he pushes the door open.

The room is a mess. The table and chairs are overturned, Ten’s bed covers are thrown around, and Ten himself is on the floor, clutching his bleeding hand with the remains of a vase at his feet. Johnny grabs a towel lying about and drops to his knees before Ten, wrapping it around his hand.

He doesn’t realize it at first, writes it off as some white noise, but when they’re up close, it’s obvious that Ten is crying. Johnny freezes, following with his eyes the tear falling down from his chin on his injured hand, salty water mixing with blood.

He never saw Ten cry. Not once in the thirteen years they’ve known each other did he see him so upset. Tired, angry, frustrated, depressed, but never crying. It makes him want to leave, go get Mark, because it was always his specialty dealing with kids crying over a scraped knee or a broken toy.

But this in not a scraped knee, it’s his friend falling apart, and Johnny is powerless. He brings his hand up, resting it on Ten’s shoulder, squeezing and trying to reassure.

“I miss him so fucking much, Johnny.”

His voice is so broken and desperate that Johnny wants to scream. This isn’t right. Ten is always the strongest, always the brightest, shining and illuminating everything. But now Johnny realizes that he was always only the mediator, the filter that contained all their joint energy with Taeyong. Without him, Ten is so different he’s almost unrecognizable.

“Oh, Ten,” Johnny sighs and moves closer, enveloping him in a hug and bringing Ten’s head to his shoulder.

He’s full-on sobbing now, hot tears making a wet patch on Johnny’s shoulder.

“I miss him so much that sometimes my skin burns just because he’s not touching it. He is my everything, and I need him, I can’t do it without him. Fuck, Johnny, all I’ve ever known is him.” His voice is becoming more frantic, and Johnny thinks that maybe he should stop him before he starts spiraling, but it’s hard to say something. “His hair is green, you saw? I remember he dyed it green once in school, but he used that cheap fucking dye that left marks on everything, and I loved touching his hair, so my hands were green, and it wouldn’t come off, fuck. I had to wear gloves to school for a month because we were hiding from everyone, and all my friends thought I was going through some punk phase, but all I did was touching the boy I loved. Love.”

It’s a lot, and Johnny can feel his own heart breaking, because he knows it — he knows the feeling they shared, saw it in their touches and dynamic, and it’s like someone vandalized the most beautiful painting in the world. But Johnny knows, he knows who did it, and it makes it hurt even more so.

_“I love him. I need him.”_

_“Then why did you fucking cheat on him, man?”_

He knows it’s cruel, but it’s the truth, and he can’t stay silent. Ten sobs even harder, and then.

And then he starts talking again.

~~~

“We have a big fucking problem.”

Jaehyun is covered in god knows what, and they’re staying about three feet away from him, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered. The heist is up in thirty hours, and apparently, the demolition caused some kind of power outage, and Taeil’s men discovered the problem in their circuitry.

The same problem they were hoping to use, and now technicians are fixing it, and it means they’ve just lost their power privilege. The whole operation is now compromised, and Ten looks like he’s about to hit someone. Johnny is still recovering from their talk yesterday, so he’s having troubles wrapping his head around the whole thing.

“Can we do something else?” Ten is clutching his notepad, looking through the pages like the answer to their problem will magically appear on them. “We basically only need about a minute to cut the power.”

“Yeah, we can.” Jaehyun wipes his hand on the nearby couch, and Johnny flinches, thinking absentmindedly that this one is Mark’s favorite. “But it’s going to be a bitch.”

Johnny sighs.

“Just tell me what you need.”

~

At eleven pm that same day they have a huge fucking electronic spiral thingy stolen from some local lab resting in their garage, and Mark is watching with sad eyes how the workers are throwing out the couch Jaehyun left half the sewer on.

Yoongi is looking at Jimin’s hand, applying the bandages, because in the middle of the theft someone managed to hit his palm with the car door. Johnny’s worried Jimin won’t be able to perform, but he brushes it off, saying that it doesn’t even hurt that bad, and even if it did, he only needs his legs. Yoongi is frowning, and Johnny thinks about how only in two weeks he managed to go from ‘he’s so pretty when he breathes’ to ‘I will hurt anyone who tries to touch him’. It’s weirdly sweet.

Johnny looks over their plans one more time and goes outside, where Mark is lying on the grass, looking up at the sky. He lies down beside him and takes his hand.

“What are you thinking about?”

Mark hums softly and squeezes his hand.

“You, actually.” It makes Johnny’s heart do some weird shit, and he tries not to squeal like a schoolboy. “The first time we met.”

Johnny remembers that day very clearly. He was twenty-two, already relatively famous in their circle, and he was visiting his mother’s grave. They put up a plaque for her in the club, no matter how strange it sounded, and he went to look at it when he bumped into a ruffled boy with three kids on his heels.

“I was trying to get father out of the club and home, but he was dead to the world.”

“Yeah.” Johnny remembers seeing the desperation in the younger’s eyes and thinking that he needs to help somehow. “You had some of the kids with you.”

“I thought it would knock some sense into him. Seeing them. All those orphans he’s adopted and dumped on me.”

Johnny frowns and thinks for the thousandth time how strong Mark is. His father kept taking kids in until there were seven of them, including Mark, trying to be famous for his generosity rather than his drinking habits, but all the responsibility always ended up on Mark. His father died a year later, and an eighteen-year-old boy fucking raised them all with the help of Johnny and his friends. They never tried to make it right, they just did what they knew how to do.

In the end, they had a family, and a whole crew of teenagers with the future of notorious thieves. A lot of people would judge them for it, but none of those people ever gave them a choice.

“Anyway, that’s not what I was talking about.” He turns to him, and there’s a smirk on his lips that makes Johnny’s stomach feel things. “You know what was the first thing I thought once my tired, messed up brain saw you?”

Johnny frowns.

“That it’d be nice to drag me into raising six children?” He tries to joke, but it’s hard to concentrate when Mark’s hand is slowly moving across his stomach.

“No. I thought that if the kids weren’t with me, I’d drag you to the bathroom right there and then, and get down on you so hard you couldn’t breathe.”

Well, he’s accomplished something, albeit eleven years later, because Johnny is suddenly on the verge of choking.

“You were seventeen.”

“I’m not now. And my room is soundproof, by the way.”

There’s no mistaking his implication, and Johnny desperately tries to remember how to move. Mark, thankfully, takes the lead and drags him upright and to his room, and Johnny ignores the knowing look Yoongi throws at him when they pass the living room because he really has other things on his mind.

~~~

The Day is here, and almost all of them are gathered in the room they’ve rented in one of Mark’s hotels. He’s already in the _Limitless_ , getting ready to go see the fight that is the sponsor of their heist today. They watch on at the screens, where Taeil and Seokjin are standing, waiting for the car that is supposed to arrive with Mr. Lionel Zerga’s, aka Seokjin’s, diamonds. The truth is the stones are actually the booby-traps Jaehyun designed, but that’s just their little secret.

The car with Taehyung and Yoongi pulls up to the curb, and that’s their cue.

“All right, everyone.” Ten claps his hands, and they all turn to him. “To your positions. And good luck.”

They start going out one by one, and there’s almost no one left when Jungkook turns to Ten, frowning.

“What is your role, again?”

He exchanges a look with Johnny.

“I,” he makes a pause and fixes his tie. “Am going to pay our friend a visit.”

He leaves the room, and Johnny sighs. He better be fucking right about this, or else the whole con will be blown. Jungkook is still confused, but Johnny just shakes his head.

“Focus on your part. Remember what you have to do?”

Jungkook nods with a serious expression. It’s almost adorable.

“Yes. Be quiet and unremarkable. Make him pay attention to me, but forget me as soon as I leave. And—” He frowns, and Johnny pinches the bridge of his nose. “A bunch of other things I’ve already incorporated into my behavior so well that I don’t need to recite them.”

Johnny snorts. He gotta hand it to the kid — he’s good.

“Nice save. Now go, and good luck.”

Jungkook leaves, and now it’s only him and Namjoon in the room. Johnny sits down, ready to monitor everything. He puts the earpiece in, and moves the mic closer.

Let the heist begin.

~~~

“Mr. Moon?”

Taeil doesn’t even slow down, but he turns his head slightly, indicating that he’s listening. Jungkook feels a bit nervous, but he remembers all Johnny had told him, and the reassuring peck on the cheek from Taehyung, and feels like he can do this.

“Hello. Kim Taemin, Nevada Gaming Commission. I’m afraid I need two minutes of your time.”

He shows the fake badge Namjoon procured and notices the black envelope sticking out of Taeil’s pocket. Just what he needs.

Taeil looks over him carefully and looks at the folder in his hands again, disinterested. Perfect.

“Anything for the NGC.”

~

The plan is going smoothly, and Johnny watches how Jungkook pulls an actor out of his soul and convinces Taeil that one of his dealers is actually an ex-con. The guards accompany them and Hoseok to the private room, and Johnny looks at the other screen.

Now, this is probably the hardest part of the heist, and not because it’s complicated, but because right about now, on the seventh floor of the casino-hotel _Limitless_ , Ten is about to see his husband for the first time in four years. Johnny clutches the cushion. This is going to be tense.

~

The restaurant is shining with soft gold glints, and it reminds Ten of the job they did before it all went to hell. Taeyong is sitting at the farthest table, looking at his phone with a frustrated look, and it makes Ten’s heart ache over how beautiful he is. He always had this ability to look gorgeous in any given situation, but four years apart almost made Ten forget how soft his hair looks or how pretty his tanned skin is. He swallows and composes himself. It’s showtime.

He puts his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder, and feels the same hard muscles under his jacket he’d always liked to grip so much.

Taeyong looks tired. He smiles.

“You’re five minutes late, I was about to—”

He doesn’t finish the sentence, because he looks up and sees Ten, and there’s something so strongly painful in his eyes Ten barely finds the energy to smile.

“Hello, angel.”

~

Jungkook has the codes, and he’s now going to the service elevators, relying on Namjoon to cover him. Taeil is supposed to be in the control room now with Seokjin, overwatching his ‘diamonds’ being put in the _Limitless_ vault.

If everything went right, Yoongi and Taehyung already did their part, and Jimin is now also on his way to the vault, squeezed into the cash container with a balloon of oxygen.

So far, so good, but Johnny can’t help but keep glancing at the screen showing the restaurant. There’s no way to know what Ten and Taeyong are talking about because all he hears are Ten’s short phrases, but he can guess. They both look tense, of course they do.

“That’s it,” Namjoon indicates from his right, and Johnny watches how Seokjin falls to the floor, pretending to faint. Namjoon leans closer to the mic. “You’re an amazing actor, babe.”

“You’re married already, so focus.” Johnny’s smiling, though, because those two are adorable.

Everyone’s attention is on Seokjin, and Joon uses this moment to switch the pictures on their screens. Tiny form of Jungkook disappears from the camera monitors, and there’s no indication there is someone in the service corridors who isn’t supposed to be there.

He searches for Taeil on the screens and watches with dread how he walks into the restaurant and freezes when he spots Ten.

Here we go.

~

“..and like I told you — it’s pointless, so please leave.”

Taeyong’s voice is full of rage, but Ten knows him to the core, and he can hear the hurt. It makes him want to break something, but he doesn’t have time to respond.

“Ten.”

Taeil looks even shinier in person, and Ten wants to punch him. But he has a job to do.

“Taeil. Long time no see.” His voice is polite, but it’s not a secret to any of them that it’s as fake as it can get.

“Yes,” Taeil drags the word out and puts his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder. Ten smiles wider to hide how much he wants to gut the fucker. “Four years, was it? Didn’t know you got out.”

“Yep,” he pops the “p’ and shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets. The weight of his wedding band on his finger soothes him somehow. “Got paroled. You know how I always was a good boy.”

The tension is so thick it’s hard to breathe. Taeil’s assessing him, and his skin crawls. God, how he hates the guy.

“Chai was about to leave,” Taeyong tries to save the situation like he always does, but he’s obviously so riled up that the old nickname slips out. He flinches when he realizes it.

It fucking hurts, oh god it does, cutting into Ten like an extremely sharp knife.

“What was he doing here, anyway?” Taeil sits down and pours himself some wine. He doesn’t offer Taeyong any. Ten grits his teeth.

“Just passing by.” He shrugs.

“Oh really? Seems strange.” Taeil does that thing he always demonstrates when he wants the person he’s talking to fuck off already and pretends he’s talking to a pole, not a person. “Just out of prison, and already in Vegas?”

“It has views.” Ten smiles and hears Johnny snicker in his earpiece. “Besides, I wanted to see my husband.”

“Ex-husband.” Surprisingly, it’s Taeil who corrects him. Ten breathes out through his nose, trying to keep his cool. “There’s no need. He’s content, as you can see. Happier than he ever was with you. Got a stable job, an apartment he doesn’t have to rent out monthly, and the friend he never had in you.”

Ten sees red, and it’s really good that his reaction coincides with the plan, because the next thing he knows his hands are clutching Taeil’s jacket, and he’s practically snarling in his face.

“Stop fucking talking for him,” he breathes out, and feels the bodyguards’ hands on him, pulling him away from the man he really wants to punch.

Taeil looks unbothered, dusting off his jacket, and Taeyong is on his feet, looking at Ten with the mix of anger and helplessness. Ten feels his heart break for the thirtieth time.

“Gentlemen,” Taeil signals for the guards to take him away, and he doesn’t resist. He throws one last glance at Taeyong, but the man that owns his heart isn’t even looking his way. He’s helping Taeil put back the chair Ten overthrew. Ten wants to scream. He lets himself be taken away.

~

They put him into the black room without cameras or windows and invite a giant looking man inside. Ten smiles sardonically.

“I assume asking you not to touch my face is pointless?”

The man cracks his knuckles, and the door closes behind the two guards. Ten doesn’t get the chance to say something else, for the man hits him square in the jaw. He screams out and grabs his chin, already feeling the scrapes from guy’s rings.

“Jesus, Bruiser!” He hits the metal block standing nearby with his fist, trying to battle the pain. “I told you, not until later.”

Bruiser, to his name, looks guilty, with his hands hovering over Ten’s shoulders and a sad expression on his face.

“Sorry, Ten, I forgot.”

He sounds so guilty Ten sighs and waves him off.

“It’s okay, don’t worry.” He pulls the block to the vent and signals for Bruiser to help him get up. “How’s life?”

He unhinges the mesh and hands it to Bruiser. The vent is dusty a bit, but at least it’s wide enough.

“Good. My lady’s pregnant again,” Bruiser shares, helping Ten climb into the vent. “Be careful there, Ten.”

“Sure, sure.”

He moves along, trying to not make any loud noise, and thinks that John McClane had it good with his outfit. Ten has the suit to keep intact. He pulls out the plan of the ventilation system out of his pocket and checks the route. This is gonna be fun.

~

Jungkook almost screams out when he pulls open the elevator ceiling door and sees Ten waiting for him there. Ten smiles.

He feels incredible, good old adrenaline kicking in.

“You couldn’t have told me you’ll be here?” Jungkook almost pouts, and Ten smiles, helping him up.

“You wanted to prove yourself.” He shrugs and closes the little door once Jungkook is in the shaft. “Let’s go.”

~

It goes so smooth Ten almost can’t believe it. Jaehyun activates the thing they spent three hours stealing, and the power goes out in the whole city, wreaking havoc and giving them a window to get past the security to the vault.

They blow it up successfully, and Jimin almost kicks them because he had barely enough time to hide, but he’s beaming with pride because he pulled off an incredible jump and didn’t even feel the pain in his hand. He asks them to give him the tape later to show to Yoongi, and Ten almost laughs. Who would’ve thought that this whole thing would fix so many people’s love life? If only it were so good for him.

This thought sobers him up, and they get to work, putting the money in the bags.

“Johnny, it’s your cue.”

~

Taeil is so pissed it’s funny to listen, but Johnny stays serious, talking to him using the voice-changing device. They can’t afford for Taeil to recognize his voice, and he’s the only one available for this part. Johnny’s walking through the lobby of the _Limitless_ , incredibly fucking amused by the personnel running around trying to fix the mess their little stunt with the power did. He dictates their conditions to Taeil, not believing for a second he will see them through, but in need for him to believe he’s serious.

It goes over smoothly. Namjoon keeps him updated through the earpiece, and right about now Taeil orders to call the police. Joon overrides the call, and the guys move out in the van they painted to look like a SWAT team one.

The plan was so thought out it is executed detail in detail. By the time Taeil figures out that the scene he was watching on the screens was a pre-recorded stunt and rushes to the exit, they’re already at Mark’s, pulling off their helmets and relocating the money bags. Everyone is here, except for one.

“Where’s Ten?”

Johnny untangles himself from Mark whom he hugged the second they walked in and smirks.

“He’s pulling out the Ace.”

~

Bruiser is going all out on his face when Taeil storms in. He pushes Ten to the wall and screams in frustration.

“Was it you?”

Ten groans, feeling how he’s going to be extremely aware of his back for the next few days. Granted, of course, that he gets out of here alive.

“What the hell?” He hopes Taeil will think his voice is shaking because of the beating, and not because he just had to sprint-crawl through a mile of the ventilating labyrinth. God, he really needs to quit smoking.

“I’ll repeat,” Taeil growls and punches him in the stomach. “Was it you?”

“I have no idea,” Ten wheezes, trying to collect himself. “What you’re talking about.”

Taeil is mad, he knows it, but he is not a stupid man. He has the facts. Ten never hits casinos on such a major scale, choosing to target single individuals or something interesting, like museums or such. He was here the whole time, getting beaten to a pulp. Besides, he’d never be so stupid as to rob Moon Taeil.

He really has no choice but to let him go. Ten can see how much Taeil wants to pin it all on him, but he’s a rational man, and all the arrows point to anywhere but Ten.

Taeil steps away and spits out a short, “Get him out of here.”

He’s almost at the end of the corridor, and to someone else, it would seem he’s doing it as an afterthought, but he strategically waits until he’s right under the camera.

“Why so grim, Taeil? You got robbed or something?” He knows perfectly what he’s doing, and he allows himself a barely-there smile when he hears Taeil order him to stop. He composes himself and turns around, looking almost bored.

Taeil walks over to him, and this time he’s more collected. Still, Ten can see how he is brimming with anger.

“I’m going to give you one last chance. Where is my money?”

Ten’s brows go up, and he tilts his head a little.

“What if I told you I could get your money back? Would you give up Taeyong? And this little friendship you seem to have?”

It makes him sick to even say it out loud, but he needs it, needs for him to admit it.

Taeil doesn’t even hesitate.

“I’d say yes.”

Gotcha.

Ten wants to laugh and scream a little, but he keeps his cool and sighs.

“I know a guy.” He half-shrugs. “We were in a joint together. If someone pulls a job in the Western U.S., he knows about it. Give me 72 hours, and I’ll find out who took your money.”

He can almost see Taeil screaming inside his head, but to his credit, the guy is a perfect actor. He scoffs.

“You know a guy.” He starts laughing, a little hysterically, and shakes his head. “You know a guy.” Taeil rubs his face and screams a little into his hands. “Show Mr. Chittaphon the exit. And contact the police. I’m sure he’s in violation of his parole.”

He walks away then, and as the guards pull Ten towards the exit, he throws one last glance at the camera and winks.

~~~

His office is dark when Taeil comes in. He frowns.

Taeyong was supposed to wait here, he recalls now. When the fight prematurely ended, and he got a call that took 160 million from him, he sent Taeyong up there and asked to wait. He obeyed, of course he did, and Taeil even thought that it’s getting boring. Once upon a time, he had a dream to break Lee Taeyong, and once he did it, he became a bit unamusing.

The only thing working in here is the TV, and with some unsettling shock, he realizes that the screen shows the corridor he was just in. Taeyong saw everything. Heard everything. He’s probably now packing up.

He wants to scream. No matter how dull Taeyong could become, he is still the closest thing Taeil had ever had to a friend, and it hurts to lose him. Maybe, if he can catch up to him, try to find his way out of this…

He walks over to his table, and all thoughts about Taeyong are out of his mind.

The contents on his desk seem to be as they always were, but there’s one thing missing — one tiny, but at the same time major thing.

If there was some doubt in his mind before, then now he’s sure Ten wasn’t the one who robbed him. They not only took the money, but they also stole something else, and he knows there is no way Ten could be the one behind it.

There are certain people who promised to do it ten years ago if he ever crosses the line, and now they did it. He screams in frustration and throws a picture of him and Taeyong across the room. The wrecked couple can do whatever they want, for Taeil is now on a manhunt to find the suicidal idiots who robbed him of 160 million dollars and his father’s family ring.

  


~~~

  


Johnny sighs and hangs up.

“Ten is not coming,” he announces, and there’s sudden silence that seems strange after the chatter and laughing.

Jimin steps forward, clenching his hands.

“What, why?” He’s so worried that Johnny smiles. Leave it to Ten to be his grumpiest self and still charm everyone into liking him.

“He got arrested for violating his parole.”

The expected gasps are loud, and Johnny sighs. He needs to tell them, but he doesn’t even know how to begin.

“Did Taeil call the cops on him?” Jungkook calls out from where he’s curled up at Taehyung’s side. “What a fucker.”

Mark hands Johnny the glass of scotch, and he takes it gratefully, swallowing half the measure in one go.

“It’s okay, we’ve anticipated it.” Mark shrugs. “He’ll be out in three to six months.”

They’re silent again because no matter how much they’ve won today, it seems wrong to celebrate without the man who orchestrated the whole thing.

Yoongi clears his throat and looks up from where Jimin is lying in his lap.

“But what about that Ace thing? What was it?”

Johnny looks at the door and smiles, thinking that the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. He always liked to be a bit dramatic.

“The Ace,” his voice is soft and bright, just like Johnny remembers it. Taeyong steps in, casually throwing the bag he’s carrying on the floor and landing into an armchair. “Is me.”

+++

_A year ago_

The phonecall wakes him up at three in the morning, and the only reason he doesn’t throw his phone across the room is that there’s only one person that knows this number. Taeyong blindly swipes right and accepts the call.

“Chai?”

“Tae, love, I don’t have much time.” Ten’s voice is urgent, but still so familiar it makes Taeyong want to wrap himself in it. “It’s time.”

That’s what wakes Taeyong up for real. He sits up, feeling his heartbeat pick up. The Plan is about to be set in motion after three years of idling, and he’s as nervous as he is excited.

“Do you know how we’re going to stage the breakup?”

It makes him sad to talk about it, but everything was agreed upon years ago, and he can’t backtrack now.

“Yes. You’re going to hear some rumors, and I trust you not to believe them, but still, I had to warn you.”

Taeyong nods grimly to himself and looks at his wedding ring.

“Ok. Johnny’s in town, by the way.”

“Don’t tell him yet. Do as we agreed. Fuck,” there’s some scuffle, and he hears Ten breathe out in frustration. “I hate to put you through it, but…”

“Shut up, idiot.” Taeyong rolls his eyes. “In sickness and in health, remember? I guess it also means in the avenging of old friends, too.”

“Yeah,” Ten laughs quietly, and Taeyong closes his eyes, trying to memorize it because he won’t hear it for at least another year. “All right, then. You know what to do.”

“I do. Be careful.” He swallows and readies himself. “I love you.”

“I love you too. With everything I have.”

+++

_Two weeks ago_

It rings three times before there's a quiet answer.

“Hey. It's me.”

“Oh thank fucking god.” Taeyong's voice is so soft and so quiet, Ten physically restrains himself from breaking the phone from how much he misses him. “We don't have much time, but I'm so fucking glad you're calling.”

Ten swallows and closes his eyes, breathing deeply. It’s been a year since he’d last heard his voice, and he wants to scream.

“I know. Me too. Look, we're gathering the people. Everything is going as planned.”

“Good.”' He sounds relieved, and Ten knows the feeling. There are voices in the background, and he curses. “Shit, baby, I'm sorry, I have to go.”

“It's okay, I just— I needed to hear your voice.”

There's silence, but Ten can hear him breathing heavily, and he knows that sound, shit.

“Angel, please, don't cry. I promise it'll be over soon. I love you.”

He tries to convey everything he's feeling, all the shitload of emotions that are bubbling inside of him, desperate to get out and go to his husband, finally touch him after four years.

“I love you too.”

He hangs up before he can break down. He takes a deep breath. California night sky is shining brightly above him, and he hopes the stars won't let him down.

~~~

_Three days ago_

“Then why did you fucking cheat on him, man?”

He knows it’s cruel, but it’s the truth, and he can’t stay silent. Ten sobs even harder, and then.

And then he starts talking again.

“ _I didn’t_.”

Johnny freezes, looking but not seeing the blood that now stains the carpet.

“What?”

“It was all a fucking lie,” Ten almost screams, and he is oh so broken it makes Johnny feel like someone reached out down his throat and put some hot coal in his stomach. “Part of the plan.”

“What plan?”

Ten tries to compose himself, and breathes in and out a couple of times before the words start pouring from his mouth.

“Four years ago, Moon Taeil Senior realized that his son isn’t to be trusted. He found us, Taeyong and me, and asked us to do him a favor. Once he’s gone, we need to remind Taeil that his actions have consequences. You know how he always does what he wants, no matter how right or wrong it is, and with age, it started getting worse. You and Mark are only two of the many who suffered from him. Mr. Moon had a special gang on payroll, who were supposed to clean up Taeil’s messes, but he wanted us to stand guard, just in case. The old man was always good to us, you know that, so we agreed, and he told us that when the time comes, we need to steal a family ring from him. I don’t know exactly why it was so important, but he emphasized that we need to get that thing, and he guaranteed that we won’t be under any suspicion. We’ve decided to gain Taeil’s trust, but that little Texas bitch ratted me out, and they put me in jail. We had a plan for this, me and Taeyong, and when the old man kicked it, we kick-started it. The guy who told all of you those things? I paid him. He told the news to the people I needed, and nobody ever checked them, because you all believed it when Taeyong came back with divorce papers and without a ring. In reality, we just made a scene because one of the guards was watching me for Taeil personally — he never liked that I was close to his father. I needed him to believe, and he did, and so after some time he reached out to Taeyong and befriended him. He always wanted to take him away. I don’t know whether he was jealous or just petty. All this time, Taeyong was gaining his trust, and at the time we’re hitting the vault, he’ll steal the ring.”

He rattles it all out with such speed Johnny has troubles catching up. He has a ton of questions, and he can’t choose the one he wants to ask first.

“I’m sorry.” Ten takes the lead and looks up. His eyes are red and puffy. “I should’ve told you sooner, but my mind was a mess. I just can’t stop thinking about my Tae being in the company of that man. Tolerating him. Smiling at him.”

He clenches his fist, and his palm starts bleeding again. Johnny hisses at him and wraps another towel around it. He’s surprised to find that he feels calm.

“It’s okay.” And it really is. “I have no idea how, but I understand.”

Ten’s look is full of vulnerability and such unabashed trust, Johnny is reminded of a nineteen years old boy who declared them friends because they shared a pudding. God, how could he doubt this man?

“It will be over soon,” he says quietly and feels how all the pieces are slowly coming together in his head. “I promise.”

Ten nods and wipes at his eyes with his healthy arm. His wedding ring is shining. Johnny smiles. Love isn’t dead, after all.

~~~

_Three hours ago_

“Hello, angel.”

Taeyong breathes out and tries to contain his smile. There’s no guards in the near vicinity, so they can talk without a fear, but still, they’re in the middle of a restaurant, and that’s why he can’t jump into his husband's arms. What a fucking waste.

“You’re early,” he breathes out. “But I’m not complaining. I like your shirt, it’s… so you.”

Ten smiles, fixing his silver foil shirt. He takes in Taeyong’s face and hates the blue skin under his eyes.

“Have you been sleeping well?”

“No.”’ Taeyong’s voice is sad a bit, and Ten frowns. “Not since they took you, and especially not since you got paroled. I just couldn’t wait to be with you again.”

It all makes Ten want to cry again, but he composes himself. Johnny warns him in the earpiece that Taeil will be here in two minutes.

“Wow, we really made each other fall so hard we can’t be apart.” He laughs a little and sees Taeyong’s lips quirk up in the smallest, but the most real, smile. “I had trouble sleeping, too. Although, there was also an extremely loud-snoring guy on the bunk above me, so maybe he contributed to that.”

“Oh god, please stop talking, your voice makes me feel things, and we can’t afford to blow our cover so close to the end.” Taeyong lowers his gaze to the table, trying to compose himself.

“Sorry, love,” he chuckles, and hears Johnny inform him that Taeil is coming in. “My god, am I going to go to town on you once this whole thing is over.” He watches with a little smirk how Taeyong chokes on air and straightens up. “Okay, angel, game face. He’s coming.”

“I can’t even act mad at you,” whispers Taeyong, but he recovers quickly and puts a mental mask on himself. He can see Taeil in the corner of his eye. “...and like I told you — it’s pointless, so please leave.”

~~~

Taeyong finishes explaining, and there are eight shocked faces looking at him. Mark knew about it all from the beginning, and Johnny isn’t even mad. After seeing what a wreck Ten was without Tae, he understands how stupid it all is. He hugs Mark from behind and holds him tight.

“Wow.” Taehyung is the first one to speak. Somewhere in the middle of Tae’s story he relocated himself to him and is now wrapped around him like an octopus, his feet still on Jungkook’s laps. Man, the guy is flexible. “That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah,” Taeyong scoffs. “But we really owed a lot to the old man, so it was the least we could do. But fuck, it was hard being so far away from Ten. You have no idea how much I’ve missed the crazy fucker. I didn’t expect it to be this painful.”

Johnny looks around the room from where his chin is perched on Mark’s shoulder. Yoongi and Jimin are curled up together on the couch. Seokjin is feeding a tired-looking Namjoon with grapes, and one of them falls and rolls over to where Jaehyun and Hoseok’s cards are lying abandoned from where they stopped playing when Taeyong came in. Jungkook’s hands are resting on Taehyung’s calves, stroking lightly.

It seems that Taeyong wasn’t expecting some things to happen, and yet here they are.

Johnny smiles. Taeyong plays with his ring that is now back on his finger. He’s smiling softly at it.

“But it’s okay. I’ve waited for four years. I can wait for a few months more.”

~~~

_Three to six months later._

The wind is hitting his helmet and uncovered parts of his palms, but he doesn’t care for it. They’re good friends with nature, so he embraces the light tingle going up his sleeves. He has a destination, and he is in such a hurry to get there he trusts the road to keep him safe.

The bike is roaring under his thighs, exhilarating, free. It feels like she knows where they’re going, and can’t wait to feel Ten’s hands on her again. Taeyong can relate. The sun is high up in the sky, and he’s glad it’s so fine today — Ten loves basking in the sunshine. Taeyong always thought it’s because they are so much alike — full of energy, warmth, and oh so bright. He smiles. The prison is already on the horizon, and he speeds up, desperate to get to him.

Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, also known as Ten, also known as that asshole half of Vegas hates, is getting paroled again today. When Tae pulls up to the gate, he’s already there, leaning on the pole, dressed in that obscene foil shirt he was wearing when they took him in. He puts the bike on the centerstand and gets off, throwing the helmet on the seat, not caring if it falls and cracks. Taeyong promised himself to be calm, but they haven’t seen each other in four and a half years if you don’t count two staged interactions where they couldn’t even touch, and he doesn’t care if the whole fucking prison sees how he runs into his husband’s arms.

It feels so fucking right to feel him once again that he can’t breathe for a second. He clutches Ten’s shirt and laughs.

“Can you fucking stop getting into prison,” is the first thing that he can say, and it sounds so dumb they both snort.

Ten puts their foreheads together and breathes in deep. Tae feels his hand squeezing his back even more so. It feels incredible.

“Sorry, angel. I promise I won’t do that ever again.”

~

The motel room they’re in is cheap and stuffed, and they could afford literally anything else, but it seems only right to spend their first night back together in one of these, so alike to the places they used to call home.

Taeyong’s palms are sweaty on Ten’s back like it’s high school all over again and he’s nervous and scared of being with Ten for the first time, trying to stay silent in his room as to not wake up Ten’s father. He wasn’t even afraid of being killed by a prejudiced drunk, no, but he was so scared of not being good enough, of not fitting in in Ten’s embrace, of messing up. It was stupid, of course, for they were always enough for each other.

Just like now — he doesn’t care what surrounds them, as long as he feels him inside once again, moving so painfully slow, teasing, bringing him to the edge, but never allowing the release. He moans loudly and unabashedly, enjoying the freedom of semi-darkness. There’s a weak blue glow on Ten’s face from the neon sign outside, and he looks angelic.

Taeyong smiles and brings their lips together, getting everything he’d ever wanted.

Because that’s the thing — everything they do, the job, the heists, the money, and the adrenaline — it’s incredible, but it means nothing to him if Ten isn’t by his side.

He tugs Ten’s hair, smiles, breathes out.

There's are a new tattoo and three scars on Ten’s body that weren’t there when he went in, and he traces the flower on his shoulder with his fingers, feeling bumpy skin of a still-healing tattoo scar.

It’s magical.

Ten pushes further, and Taeyong feels like passing out because it feels incredible and heavenly. And it’s not just that the sex is good (and it is, by god it is), it’s the fact that he is completely Ten’s, and Ten is his.

They were each other’s first, and they will be each other’s last if he has anything to do with it. They had their troubles, of course they did. They had to hide all through high school, and even later when they took everything and ran away, it was hard to stay so foolishly in love surrounded by hardship and criminals.

He thought so often if they made the right choice, if it was truly so wise to stick together instead of going with the comfort of normal, predestined life. He knows Ten did too, saw that look on his face, the one he had before doing something unpleasant, but he stayed silent. They talked about it at one point, and even tried to break up for their own sake, but it hurt so much even thinking about it that they made a promise to make it through, and do it together. They found jobs, tried to make a living, and then they met Johnny and discovered that they had a knack of taking from the capitalists the things they deemed theirs by right. They got smarter, stronger, more famous in certain circles, and through all of that, they’ve never let go.

And now they’re here, entangled with each other, hearts and bodies, and he would never give it up.

The sun is setting over California, and the smell of the cheap cigarettes they always smoke in the honor of their first ones is strong in the air. They’ve pulled through, despite everything, and now it’s finally how it’s supposed to be.

They even managed to pull off the craziest and the most successful heist in the history of Las Vegas.

Taeyong smiles.

They’re fucking legends.

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on [twitter ](https://twitter.com/romulusadhara)


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